Bioware has given permission for users to use its models in free addons for other games such as Bridge Commander and Half Life 2. This would give whatever gameplay you created full factions and a large fan following.

Alliance

Cerberus

Reapers

Turians

Geth

Although personally I think converting Star Trek TNG models would make a better space game.

Personally i think Space Engine should develop it's own models. Sure some fans would like to cruise around in Mass Effect or Star Trek space ships but i think it would greatly damage the originality of Space Engine. This is such a unique program that it deserves it's own and unique models.

The models you describe are all science fiction and i can't speak on behalf of Space Engineer but i think his aim was to go for realism. With that in mind i think the models in Space Engine should have some realistic logic behind them that would explain questions such as: why is that thruster in that position? What are those quarters on the starboard side of the ship? Why does it have that shape?

In this thread here Space Engineer has proposed a space ship concept and explained what is what and why the things are in the place that they are. When aiming for realism and not science fiction i think it's important to get it right. Everything in Space Engine is based on realism, so why should the models not be?

Personally i think Space Engine should develop it's own models. Sure some fans would like to cruise around in Mass Effect or Star Trek space ships but i think it would greatly damage the originality of Space Engine. This is such a unique program that it deserves it's own and unique models.

I agree with this, but any use of the Mass Effect models could and would only be with optional addons, and I very much support the idea of people being able to choose the game experience they have, at least to some degree. For example, in Orbiter, if I could only fly around in the default Delta Glider or Space Shuttle etc, then I probably wouldn't use the program very often, but with addons like the XR series or space stations or whatever else, it allows the user to tailor an experience that they enjoy.

So I think that addons of this nature should be allowed with SpaceEngine, but perhaps separately from the main game and made for personal use or private networks perhaps. The main exploration/whatever-the-game-ends-up-being should have a closed and consistent environment for people to use and interact with to preserve a common experience for the players.

Its a nice idea but personally I'm with everyone else on this. It just seems like it wouldn't fit with the originality of Space Engine. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see a giant Death Star or some other Scifi in game eventually.

I dont know bout you guys but my honest opinion is that Star Trek and Star Wars are way too much overrated nowadays.. i dont have anytihng against them just my thoughts. As for the realism with the ships SE has a point with his ideas cuz when we talk bout other game or movie universe they usually have thousands and thousands of years of evolution woth of technology or they just got it with a little help from someone else. Now personaly im a huge fan of Mass Effect and the idea they explore with the technology evolution seems plausable if not completely realistic (though there have been talks that the technology they feature in the game are theoretically possible but not gonna seen in the near future), but I think that it would be more fun for the player to be able to import the models he wants to make the experience he gets with space engine more to his liking. That way he wont be limited with the space he explores nor with the technology that he will get as a default.

I dont know bout you guys but my honest opinion is that Star Trek and Star Wars are way too much overrated nowadays

"Overrated nowadays"? You seem to be implying that they were worthy of popular appeal in the past, but no longer are. I strongly disagree with this logic. Art has no expiration date. If something is good, then it remains good forever, at least until no one can understand it anymore. The core themes of both Star Trek and Star Wars are still readily understandable and quite relevant to modern society. So if you think that they were ever worthy of being liked, then you should think they still are.

You could argue that the new things that have been added to each series over the past 15 years made them worse, but that does not take away from anything that came before. And the cultural impact that each series has had (and in the case of Star Wars the impact on the film industry) cannot be overstated. I would never demand that anyone like either series, but they do deserve respect.

I dont mean that they are not worthy of respect or not good enough to be liked. What i meant is that productions like them made a huge impact on society for the past 50 years. But with the counless sequels and remakes and new series it just seems like they are ruining it more. The ideas behind the originals were remarkable. It was new, impressive, beautiful even. But now i just feel like they are remaking everything trying to give it a "fresh" look cause they can't come up with something original. I dont wanna sound rude or unappreciative but its just my thoguhts. But after Mass Effect came out then its like the first days when Star Wars kicked in. It original, fresh, interesting. I said overrated cause where ever i see a forum with a space oriented game there's always gonna be a couple of people saying "that should've been like in star wars (or star trek)". Lots of games, lots of series, lots of content about them has been done. I do respect them but i really dont think that every game or movie should have to relate to them. Sorry if i offended anyone.

lexrazor, I understand. I agree that everything that has been added to both SW and ST in the past 15 years has not been good. But everything that came before that was good and still is, and a lot of people like it. So why not just let them have their fun? I would like to think that there is room enough in the world for everyone to have their own type of fun, and I think that include SpaceEngine. As I stated, I agree that in the main game world, whatever that ends up being, that all the ships should be original. But I think that there should also be some way to accommodate people who want to have a different experience. I think SpaceEngineer has said that he intends to develop the engine as a good foundation and release a good SDK so that people can make addons or maybe even their own games from it, separate from his. Ones featuring Star Trek/Wars/Mass Effect/etc. would be a good use of this. Everyone has their own fantasy that they want to live. I say let them, as long as it stays separate from the core game experience.

If its just models and maybe a ship config file I'd much prefer it to not be separate. If its a full game universe mod then that should be separate but I don't see any harm in wanting to fly around space engine in a starship from your favorite scifi show/movie.

I don't see any harm in wanting to fly around space engine in a starship from your favorite scifi show/movie.

If it is just models then I agree in principle. The problem would be that if anyone used custom models for their ships, then EVERYONE would have to download those models in order for them to be visible to other players, otherwise they would not see the ship, or would show up as default if coded correctly I suppose. In either case it would create an inconsistent experience between players.

If it is just models then I agree in principle. The problem would be that if anyone used custom models for their ships, then EVERYONE would have to download those models in order for them to be visible to other players, otherwise they would not see the ship, or would show up as default if coded correctly I suppose. In either case it would create an inconsistent experience between players.

Plenty of ways around any of those issues. If you're hosting people joining would download the mod files. If you join someone else's game then either the mod files don't load or you can load your custom ship but the people who don't have it would see one of the default models much like how Unreal Tournament handles custom models. Best option I can think of is to load the model if its just a model and only those who have it can see it and if its a full on custom ship with a custom script it just doesn't load if someone doesn't have it. But all of this is assuming a person can host their own game.

If you're hosting people joining would download the mod files. If you join someone else's game then either the mod files don't load or you can load your custom ship but the people who don't have it would see one of the default models much like how Unreal Tournament handles custom models.

As I understand it, all gameplay in the SE game will be hosted on a central server, MMO style, so individual players would not be host. So I don't think that could work. If SE was coded to show default models for custom ships if a player doesn't have the mod file, then things would look wrong, e.g. docking points inside the mesh or floating in space. That harms the necessary suspension of disbelief needed in a game environment. Like I said, if there's a way to work around that then I'm all for it, but not if it creates an inconsistent game experience.

No, I don't want to see sci-fiction ships in the SE game. But I plan to make two more other games based on SE engine, and one of them will be free play space sandbox where anyone may import custom models and do anything, with or without realistic physics and economics.